Container closure means



p 28, 1965 R. R. BARON 3,208,617

CONTAINER CLOSURE MEANS Filed Oct. 12, 1964 Fig.1 27

INVENTOR. ROBERT R BARON BYM M ATTORNEY United States Patent 3,208,617CONTAINER CLOSURE MEANS Robert R. Baron, Presidential Apts.,Philadelphia, Pa. Filed Oct. 12, 1964, Ser. No. 403,041 2 Claims. (Cl.215-40) This invention relates to a closure means for containers such asbottles, jars, and the like, and it particularly relates to a closuremeans which is initially held on the mouth of the container by crimpingor similar semi-permanent securing means.

The present invention is particularly concerned with crown-type caps,such as are ordinarily used on soda bottles, or the like, and which areprovided with skirt portions crimped into frictional engagement with ashoulder or lip around the mouth of the bottle. In order to remove thecap, it is necessary to use a bottle opener as a lever to pry up anddistort a portion of the crimped skirt and thereby break the frictionalengagement between the skirt and the shoulder or lip of the bottle.

The ordinary type of crown cap is provided with an inner sealing dis-cmade of cork or the like, this sealing disc resting on top of the bottlemouth when the cap is in its closed, crimped position. The combinationof the crimped cap and the sealing disc is sufiicient to provide a tightsealing engagement between the closure member and the mouth of thebottle so that the contents of the bottle cannot be spilled regardlessof how the bottle is tipped. However, when once the cap is distorted andremoved from the bottle, it is extremely difiicult to replace the cap insuch manner as to obtain the initial sealing effect. Consequently, ithas become the practice to discard such crown caps, when once removed,and to either use up all the contents of the container at one time or touse a separate resilient closure member to re-seal the bottle.

There are various disadvantages in the use of separate closure membersfor re-sealing a bottle once the original crown cap has been removed.One disadvantage is that it is necessary to separately purchase theseclosure members and to keep them constantly at hand, ready for use.Another disadvantage resides in the fact that these separate closuremembers are, generally, not sterile since they are usually kept in akitchen drawer or cabinet between uses and are open to dust and dirt inthe atmosphere. A third disadvantage resides in the fact that theseseparate closure members are of a standard size and shape and will notfit a container which varies in any degree from such standard size orshape. Yet another disadvantage in the use of these separate closuremembers is that since they are usually kept loose in a drawer or thelike, they may become lost or misplaced and, therefore, becomeunavailable when most needed.

It has heretofore been proposed to overcome the aforesaid disadvantagesby utilizing a cap having a resilient stopper, made of plastic or thelike, attached to it in such manner that after the cap was initiallyremoved, it could be replaced on the bottle with the stopper beinginserted into the mouth of the bottle to form the primary closure.However, the bent and distorted cap had lost its function and was notonly unsightly but tended to injure the fingers when it was used as alever to pull the stopper out of the bottle unless a bottle opener wasused. Furthermore, it required the use of various connecting means suchas adhesive or detents or other mechanical connecting means whichusually required additional machining and distortion of the cap andstopper to permit their assembly into a unitary structure. On the otherhand, if the stopper was made separable from the cap, it was diificultto maintain the stopper and cap in firm assembled condition duringapplication thereof to the container at the factory without 3,208,517Patented Sept. 28, 1965 the use of adhesives or complicated and costlyclamping mechanisms.

It is one object of the present invention to overcome the abovedifiiculties and disadvantages by providing a combination closure capand resilient stopper assembly wherein the cap may be securely affixedto the container at the factory in such manner as to both seal thecontainer and to protect the stopper portion prior to initial opening ofthe container and whereby the stopper portion may be easily removed fromthe cap and separately used for sealing the container after the initialopening.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a combination capand resilient stopper assembly for containers whereby the stopper issecurely held in connection with the cap during initial application ofthe assembly to the container at the factory, but where the stopper maybe easily detached from the cap after the cap is removed by the consumerand then separately used to seal the container.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a combination capand stopper assembly wherein the stopper is held in releasableconnection with the cap without the use of any adhesives, detents,crimps, or any other distortions or complex configurations of either thecap or stopper structure.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a resilientclosure member which is always available to re-seal the container afterthe initial opening thereof and which is always of the correct size andshape to fit the particular container regardless of any deviationthereof from the standard.

Other objects and many of the attendant advantages of this inventionwill be readily appreciated as the same becomes better understood byreference to the following description when read in conjunction with theaccompanying drawings wherein:

FIG. 1 is a fragmentary perspective view, broken away in section, of abottle provided with a closure assembly embodying the present invention.

FIG. 2 is an exploded view of the closure assembly of claim 1.

FIG. 3 is a top perspective view of the stopper portion of the closureof FIGS. 1 and 2, in sealing position on the bottle after removal of thecap portion of the closure assembly.

FIG. 4 is a cross-section of a modified form of stopper member to beutilized in the assembly of FIGS. 1 and 2.

Referring now in greater detail to the various figures of the drawingwherein similar reference characters refer to similar parts, there isshown in FIG. 1 a bottle 10 supplied with liquid contents (not shown)and sealed by a closure assembly, generally designated 12. This closureassembly 12 comprises a crown cap 14, here shown as constructed ofmetal, having a skirt 16, portions of which are crimped under the lip 18of the bottle to secure the cap in place. The cap is optionally providedwith a removable label 20, of paper or the like, to carry advertising orother indicia. Alternatively, the indicia may be directly stamped orprinted on the top of the cap.

Positioned between the top wall of the cap 14 and the mouth of thebottle is a flexible or resilient, molded stopper member 22, here shownas constructed of polyethylene. It is, however, within the scope of thisinvention to construct the stopper of any other desirable and feasiblematerial such as natural or synthetic rubber, cork, synthetic resinsother than polyethylene, etc.

The stopper includes a central recess 24 defined by an annular wall 26integral with an upstanding wall 27. The Wan 27 extends p dly beyond thetop of the recess 24 to form a plug portion and is defined at its upperend by an annular r1b 28. Integral with the rib 28, but slightlydepressed, is provided a radially-outwardly extending horizontal flange30 which is defined at its outer edge by an annular bead 32. The size ofthe stopper is such that the bead 32 abut the inner circumfrence of theskirt 16 when the stopper is in the position of FIG. 1.

The space 34 between the rib 28 and bead 32 constitutes an annulargroove or pocket which, when the stopper 14 is snapped into place withinthe cup formed by the skirt portion of the cap 14, forms a vacuum cup.This vacuum cup, together with the frictional engagement between theresilient rib 28 and bead 32 with the top wall of the cap, securelyretains the stopper 22 in assembly with the cap 14. This permits theeasy application of the entire assembly to the mouth of the bottle,after the bottle has been filled at the factory, either by hand or byautomatic capping machines similar to those in standard use.

When the consumer opens the bottle, if he desires to remove only part ofthe contents and re-seal the bottle to retain the rest, he has only topull the stopper away from the cap, thereby breaking the suction in thepocket 34 and releasing the stopper. He then applies the stopper as aseparate sealing unit (as illustrated in FIG. 3).

It may sometimes be difficult to release the stopper before the suctionis broken. In order to overcome this, a modified form of the stopper maybe used, such as is illustrated in FIG. 4. The stopper 50 of FIG. 4 issubstantially identical to the stopper 22 in that it includes a centralrecess 52 defined by an annular wall integral with an upstanding wall 54ending in an upper annular rib 56 spaced from an annular bead 58 by aslightly recessed annular horizontal flange 60. This stopper isconstructed of the same material as the stopper 22.

In addition, the stopper 50 is provided with a pair of integral tabs 62,forming finger-hold means, of the same molded material. These tabs 62hang down within the mouth of the container when the stopper is inposition (as in FIGS. 1 and 3). When the consumer initially opens thecontainer by prying up the cap with a bottle opener or the like, he maygrasp the two tabs 62 and, by pulling thereon, more easily pull thestopper away from the cap.

Although two tabs 62 are illustrated, one tab or more than two may beused, or any other grasping means such as a shoulder, flange, etc. maybe provided within the feasibility limits of the molding process.

The invention has been illustrated in use with a standard metal crowncap which is adapted to be lifted away from the container mouth. It may,however, also be utilized in conjunction with a cap of plastic or othermaterial, or with a cap having a manually-pullable tear-strip, or with acap which is secured to the container otherwise than by crimping, suchas by screw-threads, tie-wires, etc. Furthermore, although one annularsuction pocket or recess 34 is illustrated, it is within the scope ofthe invention to substitute one or more separate suction pockets of anydesired shape.

Obviously, many modifications of the present invention are possible inthe light of the above teachings. It is, therefore, to be understoodthat within the scope of the appended claims, the invention may bepracticed otherwise than as specifically described.

The invention claimed is:

1. A container and container closure assembly, said closure assemblybeing sealingly positioned on the mouth of said container and comprisinga hollow cap having a top wall and a skirt engaging the periphery of thecontainer around the mouth, and a stopper releasably secured within thehollow of said cap, said stopper having an annular top wall surroundinga central plug portion, said annular top wall having at least one recessin its upper surface, and said annular top wall of said stopper beingarranged in face-to-face relationship with the top wall of said cap,said stopper being of suflicient rigidity to substantially maintain theshape of the recess when the cap is sealingly engaged on the container,whereby said recess forms a suction pocket between the top wall of saidcap and the top wall of the stopper.

2. The container and container closure assembly of claim 1 whereinfinger-hold means are provided on said stopper.

References Cited by the Examiner FOREIGN PATENTS 6/63 Great Britain.6/57 Italy.

FRANKLIN T. GARRETT, Primary Examiner.

GEORGE O. RALSTON, Examiner.

1. A CONTAINER AND CONTAINER CLOSURE ASSEMBLY, SAID CLOSURE ASSEMBLYBEING SEALINGLY POSITIONED ON THE MOUTH OF SAID CONTAINER AND COMPRISINGA HOLLOW CAP HAVING A TOP WALL AND A SKIRT ENGAGING THE PERIPHERY OF THECONTAINER AROUND THE MOUTH, AND A STOPPER RELEASABLY SECURED WITHIN THEHOLLOW OF SAID CAP, SAID STOPPER HAVING AN ANNULAR TOP WALL SURROUNDINGA CENTRAL PLUG PORTION, SAID ANNULAR TOP WALL HAVING AT LEAST ONE RECESSIN ITS UPPER SURFACE, AND SAID ANNULAR TOP WALL OF SAID STOPPER BEINGARRANGED IN FACE-TO-FACE RELATIONSHIP WITH THE TOP WALL